EAT

I love food and in the past, I had a strong affinity for bad foods. But this blog has helped me focus on eating healthier and trying different foods. I used to crave: nachos, French fries, chocolate (especially Hugs), cheese, candy corn, sour watermelons and nachos.

But now I tend to gravitate toward good, nutritious meals made with real food. In the past I tried out a variety of healthy-eating/living trends like: The Sonoma Diet, becoming a vegan (okay that only last about two weeks), SparkPeople.com, etc. My focus is now on eating a variety of foods to keep my diet balanced and my appetite satiated. I still munch on my favorites, but I try to eat them in moderation and modify my foods for the rest of the day to make up for a splurge.

Eating became a HUGE focus for me when I was training for my first marathon. I was truly ravenous and was eating many, many more calories a day in preparation for the calories I would burn during a long run. However, sometimes it became about finding more food rather than the right food.

I definitely modified my diet quite a bit as I trained for my second marathon and found that getting creative in the kitchen and choosing food that offers a variety of nutritional benefits was the best way for me to go. I think the combination of my healthier eating and good training was what helped me achieve my BQ time in May 2010. As I continue to run races (of varying lengths), that is something I will focus on maintaining. It takes a lot to fuel a runner, but that doesn’t necessarily mean all carbs and only carbs.